The 2024 MAMA Awards finished Saturday with a historic performance by Big Bang, solidifying its reputation as one of the prestigious pop music awards in Korea.

The event was held in Los Angeles and Osaka, Japan, marking the first time in its history that part of the ceremony was held in the United States.


Boy band Seventeen won the grand prize for the second consecutive year.

The 13-member group took home the coveted Visa Artist of the Year award on the final night, marking its second consecutive grand prize after winning Album of the Year in 2023.

Visibly emotional during his acceptance speech, member Woozi said: "They say you're free to dream, but for us, winning a grand prize for two consecutive years was something we never imagined. We'll continue to live to repay this honor, staying steadfast and unchanged."

Seventeen did not stop there. It also received the Visa Album of the Year, one of the four grand prizes, for its 11th EP, "Seventeenth Heaven," along with Best Male Group, Visa Super Stage and Fans' Choice Male Top 10, sweeping five awards in total.

Other major winners included aespa, whose song "Supernova" was named the Visa Song of the Year.

The quartet took home six awards — Best Female Group, Best Dance Performance Female Group, Best Choreography, Best Music Video and Fans' Choice Female Top 10.

On the first day of the event in Japan, BTS' Jimin won the Visa Fans' Choice of the Year, also one of the four grand prizes.

A highlight of the evening was a surprise performance by Big Bang, marking a rare reunion of three remaining members of the band: G-Dragon, Taeyang and Daesung.

At first, G-Dragon performed two of his solo tracks, "Untitled" (2014) and "Power" (2024).

Then the Big Bang member began performing his latest single, "Home Sweet Home," a song that features fellow bandmates Taeyang and Daesung. The members joined the performance mid-song, making a surprise appearance. Then the trio delivered a nostalgic yet electrifying medley of two of the group's megahits — "Bang Bang Bang" (2015) and "Fantastic Baby" (2012) — sending the audience and artists into a frenzy.

G-Dragon was also honored with the inaugural Music Visionary of the Year award. In his acceptance speech, he humorously referenced lyrics from his 2014 MAMA Awards performance, saying: "It's been a while. It looks like Mama is preparing a large feast."

Actor Byeon Woo-seok, who rose to stardom domestically as well as globally with the 2024 tvN series "Lovely Runner," also performed "Sudden Shower," an OST track he sang in the drama.

Byeon received the Favorite Global Trending Music award for the song.

Hosted by entertainment company CJ ENM's cable channel Mnet, the annual MAMA Awards is one of K-pop's biggest annual music awards in Korea.

This year's MAMA Awards went global by holding its first day of the event at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and inviting pop star Bruno Mars to perform alongside Blackpink's Rosé.

BY YOON SO-YEON, YONHAP [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]